Buried utility locators (also denoted herein for brevity as “locators”) are devices for sensing magnetic fields emitted from hidden or buried conductors (e.g., underground utilities such as pipes, conduits, or cables), and processing the received signals to determine information about the conductors and the associated underground environment.
While some buried utilities are electrically energized (e.g., underground power cables) or carry currents coupled from radio signals or other electromagnetic radiation, in some buried utility location operations (also denoted herein as a “locate” for brevity) currents are generated and coupled, either directly, inductively, or capacitively, from a buried utility transmitter (also denoted herein as a “transmitter” for brevity). These transmitters generate output current signals for coupling either directly or inductively or capacitively to a targeted utility. This may be done with clamps that provide directly physical connections, as well as claims that provide inductive or capacitive coupling to induce the current signals onto the utility.
Clamp devices known in the art fail to effectively reduce unnecessary eddy current losses and may be lacking in configurability to specific use. Furthermore, existing clamp devices lack the ability to detect and/or communicate utility data and/or other pertinent locate information to other system devices. Further, existing clamp devices may further require the use of a connected transmitter device to function.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to address the above-described as well as other problems.